Epic length series. Re-vamped version. War has come just days after the end of their honeymoon and Endymion and Serenity face their toughest challenges as darkness threatens to overtake their galaxy... M for violence and referenced adult situations

Red
eyes watched carefully as small hands closed about a stylus. Tiny
fingers gently gripped the shaft and dipped it with an awkward grace
into the ink fountain. A chubby face pinched in concentration, the
tip of a pink tongue sticking out one side of a pouting mouth as the
ink began to form gracefully slanted letters. The child wrote
carefully under the watchful eye of his teacher, the ink sliding over
the paper and leaving behind letters that would do the most precise
scribe proud.

The
child finally sat back, his face relaxing into a brilliant smile,
navy blue eyes meeting the gaze of his teacher. "By Damien,"
he said proudly, sprinkling a dust of sand across the wet ink.

The
woman nodded. "Very good, Damien. That is the finished report on
the royal family, correct?"

He
pointed to a small stack of papers on the corner of his desk. "I
wrote three pages just like you asked me too, Aunty Setsuna," he
smiled hesitantly. "I hope I got everything."

Setsuna
pushed a lock of black-green hair off her shoulder and nodded, taking
the report - written in semi-large print - and scanned through it. "A
great war covered the earth and destroyed the royal family, killing
all but two; a baby prince and his father's sister." She looked
up at him and nodded. "It will do. You have free time; I suggest
you use it to get ahead on the next history lesson." Motioning
to the thick, dusty book was resting on a table, the obliquely gave
him his next task.

Damien
rose and eagerly went to grab the book before scampering off. Setsuna
waited until he was gone before taking the seat he'd just vacated and
pulling a fresh stylus from his supply. She carefully read through
his report, feeling a slight twinge of conscience. Damien knew next
to nothing about his family. His father had died, according to the
stories he'd been told, fighting a great war against an evil that had
wanted to take over the world.

That
much was true, but she felt almost remorseful when his report
described his brother avenging his father's death in the Royal palace
after the same warrior, the leader of the evil army, slew their
mother. Unfortunately his brother died in the ordeal, and though it
was a glorious death, it left the infant prince the only heir to the
throne.

Setsuna
sighed, rubbing her eyes. She'd been posing as the boy's Great Aunt
for ten years, a mere breath as far as she was concerned - being the
guardian of time - but that breath had been the biggest challenge of
her life thus far.

Raising
the boy wasn't easy, especially when she had to keep him from the
truth about his family's past. Rumors had already started flying
about the missing bodies of the boy's brother and wife. Those few who
had heard that the Princess was from the Moon had already begun
passing the story down to their children - though Damien was told to
disregard it as nonsense. Whenever he asked specifics about his
brother, Setsuna did her best to tell him the truth, as much as she
could, about the noble young man. It wasn't easy living a lie all of
her days. Thankfully she could still do her duties as the Guardian of
Time - the door itself being barely a step away through a portal.

Her
head came up as she fastened her gaze on the report by the young
king. It told of a kingdom that was prosperous and fair. Setsuna
found herself almost smiling as she read the description of the boy's
father. A proud man of noble birth, standing tall and strong with
ebony hair and eyes the color of midnight, the mark of each man in
the noble line, he rode off to war sitting tall on his charger.
Endymion stood by his mother, sworn to protect the Queen even at the
cost of his own life, the spitting image of his father. Setsuna
shook her head.

The
boy had a knack for writing she couldn't deny. Thankfully he also had
a knack for diplomacy and was already starting to learn from watching
her speak in his stead. Soon, on his 15th birthday, he would be
crowned and she could fade into the background, and eventually away,
and leave the boy to become the King she knew he could be. She sighed
- sometimes knowing the future, especially your own role, or lack
thereof, in it, was the hardest part of her job.

"Aunty
Setsuna?"

She
looked up from his final paragraph. "Yes, Damien?"

"I
know you said I should start on the new book, but the sun is setting
and the moon is starting to rise. Would it be alright with you if I
sat on the balcony and watched? For such a desolate, distant planet,
it really is quite intriguing."

She
waved him away. "It is your free time, Damien, do with it what
you wish. Just be careful - it's not like you can land safely from
the balcony should you fall."

He
flashed a roguish grin, the spitting image of his older brother at
that age and shrugged. "I know. Thank you Aunty!" He dashed
off, his shoes clicking on the marble floors as Setsuna turned her
gaze out the window.

The
boy didn't know it, but if he did fall he could catch himself
without injury. She was hoping to instill in him the thought that he
could not and in doing so, make it a reality. This line had to
prosper, Damien knew it, but he never let that get in the way of his
fun.

Setsuna
put his paper aside and stood, smoothing out the modestly flaring
black skirt of her dress. She was still technically in mourning for
her 'brother' and black was the appropriate color, seeing as how it
was one of the family's main. She absently scooped her hair off her
neck and wound it into a tight bun at the back of her head, leaving
her elegantly shaped face in full view. A strikingly beautiful woman
who possessed a mature, cool air that spoke of experience that drew
and repelled most people, she'd learned to live with it.

She
left the room, heading towards the very balcony her charge was at,
knowing exactly how she would find him. Sitting on the railing,
'endangering' his own life, his feet swinging over 30 feet of
nothingness as the sun set and the moon rose. She swept onto the
balcony and forced a gasp.

Sure
enough, the white shirt was scuffed and ragged, the black slacks torn
from his attempts to get onto the balcony's thick rail. His feet -
bare now - swung gently over the courtyard 30 feet below him. For all
the attention he paid the distance, he could simply drop down without
a care. His shoes were in a heap by the base of the rail, kicked
there by an over-eager lad wanting to get a better view.

Damien
turned to look at her and blushed. "I'm sorry Aunty Setsuna, but
I wanted a better view," he brushed his long bangs out of his
eyes and shrugged sheepishly. "I know you don't want me to put
myself in danger, but the railing told me to sit on it!"

Setsuna
crossed her arms over her chest. "Get down right now young man!
You're a prince - the king – and not some street urchin who can do
as he pleases. Haven't you figured that out yet?"

His
expression dropped as her voice lashed across him and he swung his
feet back over the safe side of the rail. He dropped down and
crouched, reaching for his shoes. "I said I'm sorry Aunty
Setsuna."

"If
you were sorry, Damien, you wouldn't keep doing it."

"Can
I go on the roof then? The rail isn't as high and I can see better."

She
crouched in front of him. "Damien, child, you're all I have
left. You know as well as I do that the winds up there would tear you
off your feet. Be a good lad and stand by the castle wall to watch
the sun set, alright?"

He
sighed in defeat. "Yes Aunty." He slid his feet into his
shoes, not bothering with his socks and obeyed her suggestion,
leaning back against the castle wall.

Setsuna
made to leave but paused in the doorway when she saw him staring at
her. "Yes, Damien?"

He
looked away, back to where the sun was settling over the horizon and
leaving the area bathed in a brilliant red and orange glow. "Why
don't you ever smile?" His question was soft. "I try to
please you - I try to be good. Why don't you smile?"

Setsuna
looked at him closely. "When you give me a good reason to smile,
Damien, you will see me smile."

Damien
met her gaze solemnly. "When I am a good King, will you smile?"

Nodding,
she reached out in a rare gesture to gently pat his face. "When
you make me proud as a King, a fair and just ruler and upholder of
the laws, I will smile."

"Good,
because when I am King, I'm going to make you proud of me - I swear
it!"

Setsuna's
gaze went to the sunset. "I'm sure you will, young prince. I'm
sure you will."

Fin.

--

Author's Note: I
know, I know. Another story where they die laughs and I apologize
in advance – but I won't be writing a happy ending to this one. I
will however continue revamping "First meeting" (the inner senshi
centric story to accompany "The Joining of Two Nations") and
"Family Secrets" – the sequel to this series.

Thank you for
reading everyone, you've been a marvelous audience and your reviews
are just wonderful too! They certainly make my day :D

The author would like to thank you for your continued support. Your review has been posted.